But five years ago, after an injury prompted her to leave the
stage, the New Jersey native and daughter of Broadway performers
packed her bags and headed for Hollywood.

Kastl began a career writing and starring in short films, and
now owns her own production company, Mad About Pictures, which
seeks to tell short-yet-powerful, message-driven stories.

Kastl's latest piece brings her right back to where she started,
and will use one of Baraboo's most treasured landmarks, the
historic Al. Ringling Theatre, to tell the story of a 1950s
housewife contemplating what might have been.

"The Mourning Hour," a period piece written by Kastl, which
recently won the Slugline Short Screenplay Competition, will be
shot in February in Baraboo and several other Wisconsin locations,
including Arlington and Madison. It's slated to include local
actors.

"What we're hoping to achieve is a piece of film that looks and
feels like a piece of poetry," Kastl said Sunday as her film crew
explored the nooks and crannies of the 1915 theater, plotting
camera angles for scenes that will be shot over a four-day period
starting Feb. 1.

The film will bring viewers inside the mind of a devoted mother
and wife who just learned of her husband's death.

The shock sends her into an Alice-in-Wonderland-like dream state
in which she contemplates life as a cellist in a symphony
orchestra, a path she might have taken had she not married and
started a family.

Kastl said the film will explore a person's natural tendency to
selfishly dream of a life without a loved one for whom they have
sacrificed, as well as the hope of second chances.

"I think hope is the core of what sustains us," said Kastl,
adding that the story was inspired by her mother, who has cared for
her dependent husband, Kastl's father.

The five-member crew for "The Mourning Hour" will be working on
a tight budget, and Kastl said they are still in need of air
mileage, lodging and catering for their stay in Baraboo, which will
last six days. They are also asking local theater groups to donate
1950s-era wardrobes and props.

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